TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — One of the largest herds of American flamingos in the past decade has recently been discovered in the Everglades, South Florida’s Water Management District said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“District staff have discovered 125 American flamingos in the Everglades, the largest group of flamingos seen in South Florida in the last decade!” the post read.
Water Management District officials said more herds of flamingos have been found along the coastal Everglades and along the stormwater treatment area.
Avian ecologist and restoration scientist Mark Cook said he found a large flock later last month.
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Cook said he was investigating the coastline of Florida Bay for the forest and spoonville when he found a group of two birds. At first he said he believed one of the groups was Spoonville, but he found out on a thorough examination that they were flamingos.
“Unfortunately, it was almost impossible not to scare a large group of flamingos from helicopters, and they flew quickly,” Cook said in a Facebook post.
The herd is considered to be the largest in the South Florida area since 147 groups were seen in Stormwater Treatment Area 2 in Palm Beach County in 2014.
“Flamingos are very fast flyers and can travel far away in relatively short periods, so it’s no surprise that they regularly travel across South Florida and local Caribbean islands.”
